Thank goodness this never happened to me...

Let’s say for just a moment, that you woke up this morning with absolutely nothing in your calendar for today.  (I mean besides taking your car in for service, dropping off your stuff to your tax guy, popping in on a few customers just to develop relationships, getting your hair cut, and picking up some things from Costco.)  Isn’t that the beauty of being in this business?  We are in complete control of our own schedule!

So if your buddy calls you at 8:15 and says, “I just got a call from my golf partner and he can’t play today.  We were scheduled to play his country club and he told me to go without him.  He also said I can bring someone and it’s all paid for.  The only thing it’s going to cost you is the 8-10 balls you always hit in the water!”  Reviewing your day you realize that you have absolutely ZERO revenue-producing activities in your calendar for today.  “Why not golf?” you ask yourself. You continue to rationalize by saying, “I’m not going to make money today anyway.  I might as well golf.  After all: ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’”

See the reality in this business is that if you wake up without income-generating opportunities (such as enrollments or Decision Maker (DM) appointments) already scheduled, the chances of you making any money today are somewhere between slim and none.  And Slim just left!  With VERY FEW exceptions this business is not an immediate reward kind of proposition.

This is how it really works.  First, you have to convince a DM to meet with you.  Typically the DM meeting doesn’t happen the same day you ask.  Once you meet with the DM, you have to convince them that it is in their best interest to let you see their employees.  Because you did such a great presentation, they agree to let you meet with the employees at there next quarterly staff meeting.  AWESOME!!! Oh, they just had this quarter’s staff meeting yesterday, and it’s going to be 90 days until the next one?  Not so awesome.  When you do finally get to meet with the staff, you usually don’t make them give you an answer on the spot.  That adds a couple of days.  Of course, now you have to get the applications processed and wait for the direct deposit to hit your account a few days later.

I’m not trying to bum you out.  I’m trying to show you that it is a process that doesn’t all happen today.  It’s still the greatest game in town and it’s infinitely faster than earning money in most sales positions. (Ask a real estate agent how long it takes them to get paid.)   So let me restate the now obvious this way: The reward you get for today’s activity is delayed.  It is anything but instant.

Because the reward for today’s activity (read hard work) is delayed, so is the penalty we pay for not doing that activity.  Here’s where it gets deviously treacherous:  Because the penalty is delayed, we often minimize it.  Or worse yet, we lie to ourselves that there is no penalty.  (Tweet That)  I promise you that you will pay the penalty…..And it wants interest!!!   Hey, I’m not saying you can’t ever blow off a Wednesday afternoon to go play golf for free on the nicest course in town.  What I am cautioning you to do, is to really analyze what that round of golf is going to cost you in missed opportunities.  You only get so many green-time hours in a week.  Are you really going to use them chasing a white ball around?

Conclusion: We fool ourselves into thinking, “The best thing about this business is that I’m in complete control of my own schedule.”  For some of you that might be true.  For most of us though (me included), the hardest part has always been that we are in complete control of our own schedule.  Both the rewards we reap and penalties we face are delayed.  Remember: Just because the penalty is delayed, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.  It kind of reminds me of the great advertising campaign from Fram Oil Filters, where the mechanic says, “You can pay me now, or pay me later.” Watch it here.

Question:  Will your activities today lead to rewards or penalties? (Tweetable?)

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts below.  I promise to respond to every comment!